1. Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures
  2. School of Languages, Cultures and Societies
  3. Undergraduate
  4. Modern Languages and History (Portuguese)

Modern Languages and History (Portuguese)

The list shown below represents typical modules/components studied on your chosen language pathway.

For information on typical modules for History, please check the course page.

These modules may change from time to time. Read more in our terms and conditions.

Year 1

Compulsory modules

  • Introduction to Brazil, Portugal and Portuguese Speaking Africa (20 credits) - The aim of this module is to familiarise students with the key issues relating to the history and cultural production of Brazil, Portugal and Portuguese-speaking Africa.This module will be appropriate for students with an interest in the history, culture and society of the Portuguese-speaking world. No knowledge of Portuguese language is required as this module is taught in English.

  • Portuguese Language for Beginners 1A (20 credits) - The aim of this intensive and rewarding module is to take students from total beginners to about an A1 level of the CEFR, giving them the ability to produce, read, understand and translate spoken and written Portuguese in a variety of everyday contexts. The module is taught via four weekly language classes including two grammar/writing skills-based classes, using a booklet especially devised by our language tutors, and two oral/ vocabulary classes with a native speaker of Portuguese.

  • Portuguese Language for Beginners 1B (20 credits) - This module aims to take students rapidly from about A1-level standard to about A2-level standard in the use and understanding of written and spoken Portuguese. By the end of this module students will possess sufficient Portuguese to survive in everyday situations in Portuguese-speaking countries in any of the four continents where the language is spoken, and they will demonstrate an ability to produce, read, understand and translate spoken and written Portuguese in a variety of everyday contexts. 

  • World Histories (20 credits) - This module sets out to introduce students to the complexity and diversity of human perspectives on and attitudes to history. Drawing on theories and case studies from around the world, it aims to raise critical awareness of the culturally-inflected assumptions we all bring to our study of the past, and that shape the ways history is written and interpreted in different contexts. The precise syllabus will vary from year to year, but will include opportunities to compare the writing of history in “Western” and “non-Western” cultures, and to look at a series of historical questions from diverse cultural, national and/or regional perspectives. Typical themes might include Diasporas, Time, Conflict, and Nationalism. Students will develop collaborative research skills by applying the concepts and themes introduced in lectures to contexts in which they are particularly interested.

Year 2

Compulsory modules

  • Portuguese Language Skills (20 credits) - The aim of this module is to take students from A2 to B1 level of the CEFR. Building on the skills attained at the end of Level 1, this module consolidates and improves basic and more complex grammatical structures used in a variety of contexts. Students will reinforce and further develop their linguistic competence (written and oral) in Portuguese grammar, vocabulary, style, and specialised uses of Portuguese.

Optional modules

  • Film and Literature in the Portuguese-speaking World (20 credits)

  • Culture and Society in the Portuguese-Speaking World (20 credits)

Year 3

Compulsory modules

  • Portuguese Year Abroad (120 credits)

Year 4

Compulsory modules

  • Advanced Portuguese Language (20 credits) - This module will develop advanced skills in speaking, writing, reading and listening in Portuguese. Both the Portuguese and Brazilian variants of the language are covered. Specific skills covered include written composition, oral presentations, translation into and out of Portuguese, and the preparation of summaries of longer texts written in Portuguese.

  • Final Year Project - Dissertation, Extended Translation, or Digital Documentary (e.g. Podcast) (40 credits) - This may be produced in either English or, subject to the approval of the Module Leader and project supervisor, the Target Language. Lectures and workshops provide the skills training necessary, whereas more specific guidance is provided through one to one supervision with a member of staff.

Optional modules

  • Urban Realities and Representations in the Portuguese Speaking World (20 credits)

  • Contemporary World Literature (20 credits)

  • Material Cultures and Cultures of Consumption (20 credits)

  • Adventures of the Imagination: Crime and the Fantastic Across Continents (20 credits)

  • Decolonial Approaches (20 credits)

  • Social Movements across Cultures (20 credits)

  • Minoritised Languages, Dialects and Cultures from Past to Present (20 credits)

  • Linguists into Schools (20 credits)